Tuesday, September 25, 2007

As the season progresses I'm sure we will see Peyton Manning and Donovan McNabb on this list. Derek Anderson scored more than half of his points in week 2.

Running Backs

Brian Westbrook

LaMont Jordan

Marion Barber

Ronnie Brown

Joseph Addai

Not the usual suspects on the top 5. I called that Lamont Jordan could be a quality pick in the later rounds and that has proved true. Marion Barber is still spliting carries with Jones, but Barber is running twice as good as him, plus he gets the goal line carries.

Wide Receivers

Randy Moss

Chad Johnson

Plaxico Burress

Steve Smith

Terrell Owens

After the stuggle last season, the Giants offense has turned around with Eli Manning stepping up. I don't know if he didn't throw to Burress enough last year, but he's getting the ball to him now.

Tight Ends

Antonio Gates

Jason Witten

Kellen Winslow

Dallas Clark

Benjamin Watson

I was big on Jason Witten for the draft after I saw Tony Romo constantly hit his tight end in preaseason. The usual TE's are on the list with Heap and Crumpler right behind the 5.

Defense

Vikings

Steelers

Texans

Patriots

Bears

Obviously the Texans are a huge surprise here. As well as the Vikings being #1 so far. They had big weeks against Atlanta and Detriot in week 1 and 2.

These top 5 should be the highest in most standard leagues. Some players won't continue to be hot, it might be time to move them for players who are struggling, but have the talent to do better. I just acquired Steven Jackson myself which would of been a perfect trade if he didn't get injured already.

Duece McAllister tore his anterior cruciate ligament and will miss the rest of the season. No need for fantasy owners to keep him on their roster any longer. This is good for Reggie Bush owners however. He scored two touchdowns but only rushed for 15 yards on 7 attempts.

Running backs have had a tough season so far, this reaches to Steven Jackson as well. Jackson will miss at least one week with a partial tear in his left groin.

If you need a spot start you might want to consider rookie back Brian Leonard. Even though the offense is struggling he may be the fire they need.

Monday, September 17, 2007

Wynn has taken two TD's from Green Bay Running Back Brandon Jackson, if you have him you should be worried. If you are thin at RB you might want to take a flier on Wynn who rushed for 50 yards on Sunday and scored 2 TDs. Who knows how long the Packers will continue to win and play well, so get him soon!

Matt Schaub

Dump those scrub QB's you are holding on to like Losman, and get with Schaub. With such a talented receiver like Andre Johnson to throw to, Schaub is becoming a great bet. Not a bad day on sunday with 227 passing and 2 TDs.

Derek Anderson

I'm sure no one had him starting against the Bengals last week and who knows if he will continue to produce points for the Browns. However with 328 passing yards and 5 touchdowns, he may be worth a post on your roster. The next two weeks should be rough for him though, facing Baltimore and New England.

Shaun McDonald

With the Detroit Lions deep receiving core, McDonald has found a place. In week one he had 6 catches for 90 yards and a touchdown. Last week he had 7 catches for 71 yards. Even though the Lions have plenty of talent at Wide Receiver, McDonald is still getting plenty of looks.

I'm sure many of you have seen the penalty handed down by the NFL for the Patriots 'cheating'.

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was fined 500,000 and the team was ordered to pay 250,000 even though the owner apparently was unaware of the cheating. In addition to the money, the Patriots will have to give up their first round pick if they miss the play offs, or their second AND third round if they don't.

These are straight up picks without the spread. There could definitely be some upsets this week. I think the Baltimore and Cincinnati have the makings for a great and close game. That one could go either way, but I gave it to Cinci because they are at home

Thursday, September 06, 2007

The game turned out to really be what you can expect out of the Colts. Everyone started off a little slower, but as the game went on, you could really tell the Colts owned the game. Joseph Addai had 100 yards by the 3rd quarter, and saw very little of the 4th. Rookie left tackle Ugoh was a great blocker in this game.Brees didn't manage the game well at all, and no one on the Saints really emerged to have a good game. Peyton Manning was really on point, and felt very little pressure through out the game.

Stats and Fantasy Impact

New Orleans Saints

No one player had a good game. Many people will be disappointed on how Drew Brees played. He threw zero touchdowns with 2 interceptions. The tandem of McAllister and Bush combined for under 80 rushing yards. Colston and Henderson were almost non-existent in this game. It was all around disappointing for the Saints, the only touchdown scored was on a defensive play.

Indianpolis Colts

Peyton Manning

With 288 yards and 3 touchdowns, he should rank among the top three quarterbacks for the week statistically.

Joseph Addai

I was worried about how he would handle the load alone this season, but he did very well finishig with over 100 yards and a touchdown.

Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne

Wayne finished with two touchdowns and 115 yards. Harrison also did very well with 83 yards and a touch.

I hope we will see more of the Saints of last season next week at Tampa Bay. They really played bad, if they can't turn it around the Bears may only be the only contender in the NFC. Indianapolis goes to Tennessee next week. If they play like they did tonight, they won't have a problem with anyone.

That's just for one simple reason, their value is so low. I definitely wouldn't recommend trying to figure out their quarterback mess, but look at some of the other options.

Lamont Jordan

According to myfantasyleague.com Lamont Jordan's average draft position is after players like Carnell Williams and Tatum Bell. If you are in a deeper league where running backs are slim, you could definitely go ahead and draft him in the 6th round. Some leagues are showing that he isn't being drafted until rounds 7-10. By drafting him so late, taking a flier on him might not be a bad choice.

Ronald Curry

I've selected Curry as one of my sleepers. He should be available to you in the last rounds of your draft. I took him as my last pick in one league. If he doesn't perform I won't have a problem dropping him.

Jerry Porter

He has quietly become a higher pick than Curry. I wouldn't take him for that reason. Some people are however higher on him than I am. He's an excellent receiver but hasn't been utilized in the Raider offense for a long time now. Both Porter and Curry appear to be the starters, so either of them can have potentially good seasons.

If you've already drafted like many have, you could possibly pick these guys up if they are on waivers. Another possibility is if you are trading someone and they have these guys, ask them to throw them into the trade, I'm sure they aren't valued much.

Sunday, September 02, 2007

Last weekend I did my first live draft of the season. My strategy was simple going with picks 12 and 13 of a 12 team league. Draft running backs!

The league starts 1qb, 1rb, 1 flex, 2 wr, 1 te, def, and of course a kicker. Having two strong running backs is particularly important with a flex. Especially if you start 2 rb and 1 flex you most likely want to draft a running back with your first 3 picks.

Analyzing my own draft you can see where I went wrong. I didn't take another running back until the 8th round. Who I drafted isn't a strong running back at that. I reached for Todd Heap way to early and could have used that pick to grab someone who was still on the board like Fred Taylor or Adrian Peterson.

Getting into the later rounds you can see when I started to gamble a bit. I took a chance on several wide receivers like Calvin Johnson and Ronald Curry. Taking them so low I can possibly get great value out of them via trade if they blow up. If they bust, it's not much of a loss there.